Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Old Bailey

Hey! Do you want to spend hours researching old court cases of the "non elite" in London? I am a little surprised to tell you how much time I have wasted much I have learned on this site, "Old Bailey Online.org"...I have a link for you just here. It is amazing! There are 197,745 court cases on the site and they are the accounts of the trials held at the Old Bailey in London from 1674-1913. If you go to the site, go to the search engine over on the left hand side...type in a surname and see what you find! It is fascinating to me. Many were hanged at the Tyburn Tree. This was the name of the gallows that consisted of three tall uprights joined at the top with beams in a triangular pattern to form a triple gallows so that carts could be brought under the gallows three carts at a time. The Tyburn Tree was near what is now the Marble Arch in London.There is now a convent also near this area, the Tyburn Convent...if you look at their website just here, you may read more about the Tyburn Tree.

Also, if you see that the punishment given is "transportation", that means that they were sent to either America or Australia. If the prisoners returned to England, they were then condemned to death by hanging. Let me know if you are interested and are able to look at this site.No matter what you find out about people who have lived in the past, I always like to remember that we don't know all the circumstances of their lives, only the bare bones of what is shown in the court records.

I am missing the colors of Autumn just now, we might even get snow this weekend. If we do, I will ask Richard to take photos, you know I will! Take care everyone and stay healthy!

30 comments:

I am afraid to go there for fear I will be 'hooked'. lol It is amazing what we can find out by visiting these sites, isn't it? I might take a peek there in a bit....Hope you have a great night-xo Diana

I wish I could write a book or make a movie about some of the stories that I read, some were truly criminal but many of them were petty crimes from drunkenness or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fascinating stuff, to me, I felt transported back in time as I read them, as if I was right there with them.

Of course I had to go and type in my surname... I found quite a few incidents involving people with my (acquired) surname, hardly surprising, as it is not uncommon.

The old court house in Ripon is set up as a museum. In the court room, mannequins are placed as if for a real trial, and actors have recorded the voices of those involved, based on a real case from the 1800s: A young "man" (14 years old, I think) was caught stealing bread and is sent to a colony of convicts in Australia for the offence.Back then, a human life wasn't considered worth much when the person was of low social standing... I do hope that the boy survived the long trip and maybe was able to build a better life for himself in Australia eventually.

Yes, the "non elite" was the term that was used on the website. Even today, it is the wealthy who have a better time of in the judicial system. I also hope the young man thrived in "the land down under". I wonder if he has any descendants and if they know of this museum in Yorkshire, England.

Transportation...it must have been a very brutal thing, to uproot yourself and go to either America or Australia.If you came back before the seven years, it was considered a felony and you would be hanged anyway. Brutal to read of these stories and some of their last words, which were published in these court records.

Right now i'm going to have to stay away from that site, i'll get lost and end up late for work! It does sound fascinating, especially if i want to find out if any of our ancestors did anything nefarious.

Just the few names that I entered meant that I spent several days poring over the accounts of the trails of these real people! I don't know if any of them are related to me personally but they don't have to be really, I still felt as if I somehow had a connection just by reading about them.

My surname came up six times in their records. They were mostly witnesses but there was one victim of robbery and one conviction. It was a woman who tried to kill herself. Thanks for that. It was pretty interesting.

You should also put in your mother's maiden name, and then, both surnames of your grandmothers'! There, that alone will give you some names.Also, did you have a big bully in your school? Type in that surname and see what you get!

We have a light coating of snow here on the ground this morning and it's very cold. I too am missing color..Spring summer and fall are colorful seasons, but winter is black and white for the most part.

Debra, I do wonder if our ancestors might have been friends, perhaps drinking and laughing together at some pub? I bet you anything I am right about this! (Oh dear, hope they didn't steal anything while in their drink!)

I know, the bread and milk might be gone by the time I get there! LOL!Did you get anything at all? It is just cold here but NO SNOW!! OH, I am glad but I am sorry for all the little kiddos who wanted to play in the snow!

Yep - that snow is coming, for sure. I usually go to the grocery store on Thursday anyway, so ended up going at 8:30 (it was mobbed at 6.) It wasn't too bad then, but they were out of bananas and fresh broccoli, of all things.

Ha! Next time on the news, they will say, "Get to the store before the snow hits, you must get your bananas and broccoli!!) Did you get any snow at all? We didn't in Rockdale County, it is just cold. Today on Saturday, it is even sunny!

Ah yes, "Rumpole of the Bailey". Do you know why the court is called "Old Bailey" It is simply because the Criminal Court is on Old Bailey Street in London!Check out some names and let me know if you find this as fascinating as I do.

About Me

Born in Toccoa, Georgia. I married my English pen-pal in 1983 after we had written to each other for nine years. Our wonderful son was born in 1989. Comfortable around a cuppa tea or sweet iced tea, welcome to my view of life! I hope that something here will make you smile or brighten your day.